The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

Netflix Documentary TV Series 🎥 Review: “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”.

Rated: TV-MA six episodes with a total run time of 5 hrs and 31 mins and an IMDb of 8.6/10.

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, documentary series recently released by Netflix that covers the horrific killing of an 8-year-old boy from Palmdale, California. Since its debut on the streaming service, the true-crime docuseries has been the top-viewed show in the U.S. (it currently sits at No. 1). It was released on Netflix as a six-part miniseries on February 26, 2020.

Directed by documentary filmmaker Brian Knappenberger, the series is co-produced by his production company, Luminant Media, and Common Sense Media.  The series features interviews with Los Angeles Times journalists, attorneys tied to the case, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, and others.  Knappenberger has stated that, during the two years of production on the series, producers kept a therapist on call because of the disturbing nature of the content.  The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez received positive reviews from critics with many stating it’s "a must-watch".

WARNING: This series will be one of the hardest shows you’ll ever watch. Speaking as a parent of 5 children and 7 grandchildren my emotions ran the spectrum from anger to sorrow and everything in between. As a father it literally ripped my heart apart. I can also tell you that if you start watching this you WILL finish it - as hard as it is to see and hear this poor child’s story.

Much of this series focuses on the systematic failure (Child Protective Services) and the abuse this sweet boy had to endure is just devastating. This series did an excellent job going through all the details to clearly portray how on earth something like this happened to a helpless young innocent boy.

I'd never heard of this case until now. This documentary will move you to tears throughout. I found myself teary eyed and a lump in my throat several times.

I strongly recommend that people, parents, teachers and anyone associated with children should take the time to watch this. And for gods sake……..”if you see something…..say something”!

For me this is 10/10!